


Second chances or second mistakes?

by MayaSas



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alayne (Sansa) is a servant in her own home, Alayne Stone and Sansa Stark together, Alayne and Jon are friends, Alayne goes to the past, Alayne tries to help Sansa, F/M, Gen, Magic, Or herself, Sansa (Alayne) tries to make the right decision, Sansa (Alayne) tries to save her family, Sansa Stark is Alayne Stone, Time Travel, change the future
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-11-08 07:24:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17976929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayaSas/pseuds/MayaSas
Summary: After learning of the death of her sister Arya and her half-brother Jon Snow, Alayne decides that there is no place for Sansa Stark in the world but when she wakes up in the wolfswood she realizes that she has an opportunity to save Sansa's family and Sansa herself.Or ... Alayne awakens in a world where the entire Stark family lives including Sansa and has to find her place in that world by living with who she once was and with whom she is supposed to be her family and trying to prevent the mistakes that a once destroyed everything Sansa loved.





	1. Wolfswood

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first fanfic and it occurred to me when I was thinking about how Sansa (Alayne) would react when she would find out Jon and fArya's death, so now she has a chance, but she exists as a separate person from Sansa, now she needs to be Alayne Stone and that gives her the opportunity to interact differently with people who were once part of her other life.
> 
> My native language is not English so I apologize for the mistakes that can be found in the story.

Alayne

-The new Lord Commander of the Night's Watch died, you knew? - when the words came out of Randa's mouth for a moment Alayne thought he had heard wrong, the Lord Commander ?, Randa had told him that the new Lord commander was the bastard son of Lord Eddard Stark and he couldn't be dead, "everyone can die stupid" Alayne told herself, how had he died? Had he fallen off the wall? Had they been the savages?

-"W-What?" Alayne asked, not knowing what else she could say.

 -the boy, the bastard of Lord Eddard Stark, betrayed his vows or so it is said, he let the savages cross the wall! Can you believe it? - "No" she answered herself, Alayne did not believe it, Jon would never do that, It was an evil lie just like the one they did against the father, they accused them of traitors like Robb but she knew it was a lie, it was all a lie to insult the honor of the father and Robb and now also that of his half-brother Jon "lies, lies, lies" Alayne thought bitterly "it was the fault of the Lannisters or the Boltons."

-No, I don’t think so- Alayne answered when she found her voice, pretended to try to fix her hair to eliminate a lonely tear, which ran from the corner of her eye, Jon Snow was Sansa Stark's half-brother, not Alayne's, she hadn't dead brothers Jon Snow was nobody for her and she shouldn't cry.

-mmm, the poor boy must have gone mad, in addition to letting the savages in, he wanted the Watch to fight to recover Winterfell of the Bolton, he had the intention of usurping his sister Lady Arya and her lord husband- Arya? She is alive and married?

-Arya would never marry a Bolton, they killed her brother- the words came out before she could stop them.

-Lady Arya- corrected Randa put with a smile, "How can she be smiling?" -also poor Lady Sansa married with a Lannister, the imp, no more no less-  but Lady Sansa didn't want a Lannister, everything except a Lannister, Arya Stark wouldn't want a Bolton, they betrayed and killed King Robb, Would her husband be good to her? How was Lord Tyrion with Sansa? "The Boltons are evil, they take the skin from the people", the thought gave chills.

"When? When did die?" Alayne asked. She did not want to think about Lady Arya and her husband.

-Who ?, Lady Arya or the bastard boy- Randa looked at her as if she could see through her, her secrets.

 -Lady Arya is ... - she could not finish the sentence her head was spinning the tears were falling freely now, Alayne had heard things but father told her that they were rumors and lies of the smallfolk that did not deserve her attention, she would marry Lord Harrold soon and would go home, she had heard that Lord Stannis had died and that the Boltons had killed his army, the winter prevented the news from traveling as fast as it should, her father had told her, that must have been a few moons ago.

-The gods took Lady Arya after having her heir- Randa approached her gently and put an arm around her shoulders, as she tried to comfort her- I'm sorry honey, I'm so sorry so much, I was have to make sure, you were really you, I'm sorry for your loss, Lady ... Sansa- Alayne left Lady Myranda as if she were burning her, "why she call me Sansa? I'm Alayne, who else would be?", but even if Sansa was dead... Alayne wanted to know ... know what happened to what was left of Sansa's family, how her half-brother died, how be called Lady Arya's baby...

-The boy, who killed him! - Her voice was firm and her face was hard despite the tears.

Randa tried to tell her to rest and anything else that Alayne did not hear, -Who was it!,  The Lannisters or the Boltons?-Randa looked at her surprised as if there was something wrong with her.

-I'm very sorry, I'm afraid that what your brother did is treason his motives could be noble but treason after all, he try to get the Night's Watch to attack the Boltons, he endangered the life of his brothers of oath, they were not neither Lannisters nor Bolton nor Freys, he was executed for treason by his brothers of the watch- "those were not his brothers- she wanted to tell her -his brothers were Robb, Bran and Rickon" then Alayne or Sansa? wish that all the traitors died, that winter turned them into ice, that they died of hunger or that the wall of ice fell on them, Jon was not a traitor she was sure of that, his false brothers lied, they called him a traitor and killed him like to Lord Eddard a long time ago.

-I thought you deserved to know the truth Lady Sansa, I'm so sorry, my father will protect you, everyone will protect you, and no one will give you to the queen...

"That's not true" Alayne wanted to shout at her, she started running, she wanted to go far, far away, away from the liar, Myranda Royce was as lying as everyone, no one can protect Sansa, after all her dead father and her dead brother could not, there is nothing for her, not even a sister or a half-brother, how cruel were the gods when she learned that Arya was live, was too late, she was lying in the cold crypts of Winterfell, "will she have a statue too?, like aunt Lyanna?" shook the thought as soon as it came, there is nothing for Sansa Stark only Cersei Lannister, only her dwarf husband ... no one who loves her, not even her aunt loved her, preferred to throw her to her death than to have her near, his cousin Robert would also leave soon, the maester had told him there was nothing left to do, why could not Cercei Lannister or Walder Frey die?, she heard the voice screaming behind her.

\- Lady Sansa ... .Lady Sansa- did not know at what moment her head began to spin or at what moment her feet stopped and she fell on the cold snow, "I am not Sansa, Sansa is dead, only Alayne is left" but the pain in her heart was not from Alayne nor the memories, a girl with auburn hair playing with her brothers throwing snow at them, a girl sitting on her father's knees while telling her stories, a girl whose mother brushed her hair, "I want to go home, I want to be with them alone with them "," _you don't belong with them_ \- said a voice- _Sansa belongs to them not Alayne_ ", she look up and there was a huge white wolf with scarlet eyes as bright as rubies" have I seen you before?" she had wanted to ask him but the wolf jumped to where she was, then it was all darkness.

Alayne woke up shaking her head, it was hard to see clearly, as soon as her sight cleared enough she stayed still as a statue, the white wolf was nowhere but this was like one of the places of her dreams, she felt like if she had been in this place "... maybe in another life I was here" she was still dreaming surely, she was in a forest, she remembered two boys, one with auburn hair and another with brown hair running while throwing snowballs, while huge wolves ran with they, "yes , that was in another life " in another life this forest scared her would never get away from her father or the guards while they were here, she would never be like a certain brown-haired girl who ran trying to stay close to her brothers or looking for adventures " Alayne has brown hair " she kept walking among the trees was a strange dream, there was no snow "I wish there would be snow, so it would be more beautiful" she look up at the huge trees, the gray clouds in the sky, she wish she could stay in this place forever, but she hear noises and to their horror it sounded as if they were close, too close, she had not paid attention because she look at the clouds "I got caught, they will take me to the queen" this had not been a dream was not in the wolfswood, she was still trapped in his mountain of stone and ice, had been lost while running and now they will take her to the queen, lose his head as Lord Eddard , like Robb, she was crying hysterically now, she put on the hood of his cape as if that could hide it, he wanted to run but he did not know where ...

-Hey girl, are you okay? Are you hurt? - she froze when he heard the boy's voice, it sounded familiar in a strange way -Do you need help?-then she turned to face the voice and for a moment Alayne thought that she would faint, "it’s a trap, trap, trap" this kid resembled the one of his dreams, the one that ran next to the boy with auburn hair.

-Sansa? Sansa, what are you doing here? - that's, they wanted her to fall into the trap, that's why they sent this boy to follow her, he looked a lot like Sansa's half-brother but Jon Snow must have been older when he died, this was a child, "a liar."

-I'm not Sansa!, Alayne, my name is Alayne! - she shouted as she tried to back away, the boy got even closer to her, so in her attempt to escape she tripped on the hem of her thick dress making the cowl fell from his head, the boy stopped suddenly -Alayne, Alayne, I'm Alayne-she repeated softly on the floor.

-I ... I'm sorry Alayne, I thought you were my sister, do you need help? - The boy offered her a hand looked at her with confusion and curiosity as if it were a strange thing like an animal he had never seen, she ignore the gesture and stood alone.

-Don't come closer- she warned and the boy backed away, she was about to run when two people showed up, they were a boy with auburn hair and another one whom she would have preferred never to see again ...

-Jon what happens?, Who is ...? -The boy opened his eyes a lot when he saw her but Alayne didn't let him finish, she ran to him and hugged him so hard that almost made him fall, Sansa had wanted to see this boy since that day in the Great Sept of Baelor, this boy died a long time ago "like the other" Alayne understood, perhaps Alayne was also dead.

-Brother, brother- she said as sobbed on his shoulder, then released him gently and hugged the other boy, the dark haired, it was a silent embrace but as full of tears and tears as the first, "it is very sweet to be dead" the idea calmed her down, until she saw him, a gray-eyed man approached with a confused expression "father, forgive me father, hug me" but the words never came out, she began to feel the forest swirling around her, she try to keep her eyes opened but could not, she felt that she was falling again but this time she didn't, someone was holding her, it was her father who had approached her, then everything was black again.

 


	2. The girl named Alayne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon, Robb and Eddard reflect on the girl they found in the forest and her strange resemblance to a family member, who is that girl?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have received comments about how difficult it is to differentiate inner thoughts from dialogues, so I have decided to put the dialogues in quotation marks so that are easier to differentiate.

Jon

Jon could be sure that something more strange had never happened to him in all his life, everything had been normal at beginning, he had gone out with father, Robb, Theon, Jory and some other guards to hunt, Jon knew well that part of the forest, they used to go often so nobody worried when he left the group to try to hunt a rabbit, had tried to be as silenced as possible but had accidentally stepped on a handful of dried leaves that frightened the animal, the frustration made him kick the leaves and dry branches but just then someone who seemed to be quite close began to cry, curiosity made him go to where the noise was, he had only had to take a few steps to get where she was, if he hadn’t been so focused on the rabbit he would have seen her from the beginning, he had thought that maybe it was just a lost girl after all many girls were lost in the woods, but this wasn’t just a lost girl, she had been turning her back on him the first time he spoke to her to offer help, then she turned around suddenly and that was when the situation it became disturbing to say the least, the moment he saw her he would have sworn that she was Sansa, she had the same blue eyes, the ones that Sansa shared with her three brothers, the same high cheekbones, the same little nose but she then try ran and stumbled on her own dress was then when the hood fell from his head and the hair that came out wasn’t auburn, her hair was brown almost black and she wasn't a ten years old girl, was the crying that made her look like a little girl, probably she had the same age as he and Robb and was even a little taller than both, he noticed this when she ran to Robb as if he were a family she met after the war, she even called him brother before crying even stronger on his shoulder, that had also scared him she passed from a crying of hysteria and fear of one of so much agony and sadness that had bristled his body, Robb had remained still as a statue while she hugged him, the same had happened after she released Robb and threw himself into his arms with her face totally wet with tears, for a moment he had wished to return the hug but then he saw his father arrive who was looking at them with a frown probably as confused as they, the girl began to fade and held her to keep her from falling, Robb tried to get out of his shock to help him hold her even though she was actually quite light, even so father came towards them in a couple of strides and lifted the unconscious girl easily "We must take her with Maester Luwin" he said worried and started to run towards the castle, carrying her in his arms, Jon wondered if at that moment he thought she was Sansa, now they was in the maester's tower outside the room where they were taking care of the girl, Robb and Theon had also admitted confusing her with his sister, they had been arguing for a while about whatever had happened in the wolfswood.

"A mad girl, what else would it be?" Theon said disinterestedly, which earned him a frown from Robb.

"She was just scared" Jon said brusquely "maybe she was looking for her brother, that's why he confused you" he said looking at Robb.

"Well she looks a lot like Sansa, do you think she was looking for a dark haired Robb?" Theon said smiling and rolling his eyes, it was all a jape for him, although had to admit that he used the same logic when made Robb the suggestion and now he felt stupid, at least Theon was jape not considering it as a real option, "Maybe she even has a bastard half-brother with auburn hair" he said with a smile even bigger than the previous one.

"It's enough Theon" said Robb "It must be a noble girl who got lost in a trip, her clothes were too good for an common girl, that's why she's so scared" her clothes were not only good thought Jon _, she should be roasting with clothes so heavy unless ..._

"She's from the south, no one in the north would be in such heavy clothes, the weather is almost warm these days" Robb nodded in agreement, but then Lord Eddard and Maester Luwin left the room where they and Septa Mordane were taking care of the girl, _Alayne,_ she had told her that that's her name at least a dozen times.

"The girl is fine father?" Robb asked, he seemed genuinely concerned about his well-being.

"Alayne, she told me her name was Alayne" Jon found it cruel to keep calling her the girl when she had made it more than clear what his name was, his father nodded before answering.

"Alayne is fine, she has a little fever but she is not hurt, she was very upset before fainting, so Maester Luwin says that we should only let her rest, he will be attentive in case a raven comes asking about a lost girl, now what happened guys ?, How did you meet her?" father asked looking at the three carefully.

"I tried to catch a rabbit, then I heard her crying and asked if she needed help but I confused her with Sansa and I started calling her that, she got angry and told me her name was Alayne, she seemed very scared as if ... if she feared someone would will find her because she try to run and stumbled. "

His father seemed a bit surprised by the latter, Jon had considered hiding his suspicions but decided it was better to be honest so he continued with his part of the story, then Robb intervened.

"She called me brother, she was very sad, maybe she was with her brother and she got lost, although she also hugged Jon" he said looking at Lord Eddard in the eyes, now his father seemed sadder for her than curious.

"She could be from the south, that's why she's so warm maybe she's not used to this climate," Theon added, repeating what Jon and Robb had discussed some time ago, the father nodded in agreement with his observation.

"Perhaps you should go to eat something, it’s possible that she do not wake up soon, maybe it is the best, once rested and calmer she can tell us how to end in the wolfwoods" the three nodded and withdrew.

It was difficult to dine considering Arya and Bran's questions about the mysterious girl even Sansa was curious, before to congratulate them for acting as knights and rescued a lost maiden, for Jon it had been hard stop looking at her while looking for all the similarities that could finding between her and Alayne, Robb and Theon were also watching her closely, she was so distracted talking to Jeyne she didn't seem to notice at all the three pairs of eyes that looked at her with attention.

As soon as he finished his dinner, he went with Robb to his room, trying to escape as quickly as possible from his little brothers.

"That was very unusual" Robb said with a frown "It was as if I knew her, you know, when she hugged me I mean, as if her sadness was mine too, something similar had never happened to me"

Jon had felt the same for a moment, but he thought it was because he had never seen a girl cry so much, not even Sansa when Arya cut her hair had cried so much

"You felt sorry for her, that's normal, besides, she looks like Sansa, maybe she made you think about what would happen if she were the one who got lost" he hoped the gods would never allow something like this to happen with his sisters.

"It's not that, Jon, I mean if she reminded me of Sansa I thought it was her at first but ... forget it is nonsense" he shook his head and lay down on the bed.

Jon approached shortly after, they had never shared a room even when they were children, Lady Stark wouldn’t allow it, even so they always used to go to each other's room, now they were three and ten years old so they kept slipping less but each time that they decided to share a room, they would do anything but sleep, they would play or escape to the kitchens or they would simply tell scary stories, but this time they just lay down and slept, it had been a strangely tired day after all.

 

Eddard

When Eddard Stark entered his room his Lady Wife waited for him, sitting on the edge of the bed reading a book, had promised to explain what had happened in the night when the children went to sleep that way they could talk without interruption, Catelyn had seen the girl and just as he was overwhelmed by the similarity that girl had with Sansa and in this case with herself.

"Cat" greeted his wife with a kiss and sat on the bed next to her.

 "What happened Ned?, who was that girl?" she ask without wasting time.

"I don't know, the boys met her in the wolfswoods, offered her help but she was too terrified to pay attention to them, Jon says her name is Alayne and Robb says she called him brother, when I approached them she was crying and she fainted, so I decided to bring her in for the maester to review" his wife looked between compassionate and worried.

"Does that girl call him brother ?, Where could she have appeared, the girls not only appear in the woods, if it had been lost there would be people looking for her, besides Alayne is not a name from the north ..."

"That's right, because of her clothes, the guys think she's from the south, maybe she belongs to a family of merchants, she's certainly not dressed like a common girl, she wears a fox fur cape and even a silver bracelet"

Catelyn frowned deeply, now she looked distrustful "why does that girl look like my Sansa?, that's what I don't understand, for a moment I swear it was my daughter to bring in your arms, why she crossed with our son of all people?, there is something wrong with her, I can feel it, maybe someone ordered her to approach Robb and Theon intentionally maybe ... "

"I don't think so" he said shaking his head "she was genuinely scared and Maester Luwin said she had a fever that isn't something that could be faked, Jon said she was terrified and Robb say she started crying inconsolably" Ned tried to keep calm even when his wife got up and started walking around the room.

"So she has at least one brother, according to what Robb says, maybe you're right and she's just a lost girl, the gods want that to be Ned and that we find her family soon, we should inform all the houses, they could give it to her dead, girls don't survive in the forests alone"

Ned nodded, Cat was right especially if her relatives were merchants as he suspected, her parents could leave and never hear from her again, although he couldn't imagine a father simply giving up without knowing what happened to his girl.

"I don't think she had more than a day lost, her clothes were fine and she didn't look hungry or anything, tomorrow we can ask her anyway" whatever Alayne has to say Ned was quite interested in listening to her and knew that Cat and the children felt the same, he felt calmer thinking about her as Alayne instead of _the girl who looks like Sansa_ , Ned never thought that he could ever confuse any of his children with another person until today and that scared him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the next chapter Alayne will begin to interact with the Stark family, I hope this chapter has been to your liking:)


	3. Nightmares and sweet dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alayne has a conversation with those who were once her parents.

Alayne

Alayne opened her eyes and had never felt more relieved, had horrible nightmares throughout the night, in one of them the auburn-haired boy was dying while she hugged him and begged him not to leave, in another the same boy approached her ... but he had the head of a gray wolf on his shoulders, the wolf's head growled at her, then he dreamed the dark-haired boy was kneeling on the ground with blood gushing from holes in his chest and neck, blood it was so much that there was a puddle under him, in another dream both boys and the Lord had their heads in pikes while the other ... _the traitor_ laughed holding a bloody sword approaching her saying that now it was her turn, she couldn't wake up no matter how much she shouted in her dreams, now that her nightmare was over she started to look around and knew this place she knew it even though she belonged to her other life, she doesn't know how much time she spent quietly just looking at the wall next to her but then she can’t stand the heat and started kicking the skins to get rid of them.

"Until you wake up girl" Alayne turned her head to where the voice sounded, remembered the old woman who belonged to, the one who once lost her head for the crime of serving the Stark house, couldn't help jumping out of the bed and hugging her.

"I'm so sorry Septa, it was all my fault," she whispered as the woman ran her fingers through her hair.

"You have nothing to lament sweetness, the forest is not a place for the Ladies, your family should never have allowed you to wander alone” the woman sounded between affectionate and annoyed by the mistake of the supposed family "I understand that you are scared my girl, but that it is an appropriate behavior, Ladies or not, girls must learn to maintain their composure" Alayne immediately retired, grateful for not having cried, Septa Mordane was starting to get impatient.

"I regret my bad behavior" she replied softly but in reality he didn't, she had missed her septa even though the woman in front of her didn’t seem to recognize her at all, _why would she recognize you? You are just a bastard, a bastard_ , Alayne didn't understand what was happening now she just wanted to scream, cry and run but she didn't want to disappoint her septa, she couldn't do it.

"You're as beautiful as Lady Sansa, you look so much like her" she say very proud of the girl named Sansa _, I don't understand, maybe the nightmare isn't over_ , Alayne felt her head was spinning again, she was Sansa or she was once, _were you really?, were you really the daughter of Lord Eddard and Lady Catelyn?, Robb's sister?..._ the thought terrified her _, of course I was!_ Responded furiously to the voice in her head, _well, you aren’t anymore, you are Alayne stupid girl, don't forget,_ that the other voice answered, the voices kept fighting for who knows how long, causing a headache until the septa spoke again.

"It's polite to answer the compliments sweet girl, now you must make yourself presentable, Lord and Lady Stark want to talk to you" Alayne barely paid attention to the woman, almost everything happened without her noticing, the septa and a maiden helped her to bathe, in one of her few conscious moments she prayed that her hair wouldn't fade, it did the maid lent her a clean dress, although it was a little short, well above her ankles, Alayne didn't care anyway but Sansa would never have agreed to wear something like that.

"No, please, it's been very ... heat" Alayne protested when the maid tried to put her fox fur cape over her shoulders, the woman nodded politely before informing her that Lord and Lady Stark were at the door, she felt she was about falling off the chair but nodding anyway, the septa and the maid withdrew, letting in the beautiful Lady Catelyn and the honorable Lord Eddard.

"How do you feel Alayne?" Alayne, he called her Alayne not daughter, _because you aren't his daughter._

"Good, My Lord" call Lord Eddard anything that isn't father hurt her as if put a burning coal on her tongue "you have been very kind to let me into your castle my lord, thank you" Lady Catelyn smiled at her and that made her that the pain diminished a little.

"Do you belong to a House? It could be helpful to find your parents." Lord Eddard pretended to be kind but the pain in her tongue extended to her stomach.

"N-no my lord, I'm a bastard, a Stone" Lady Catelyn's smile disappeared and Alayne felt her cheeks turn red "my parents died a long time ago"  wasn’t a lie, at least it wasn't completely.

"I'm so sorry Alayne, so you're a Stone, how did you get to Winterfell?" Alayne would also like to know.

 "Someone brought me," she answered, knowing what next question was.

"Who? _" I would also like to know that_.

"A man, he told me he was my real father but he was lying" Lord Eddard's expression hardened "I grew up with septas in Gulltown my mother entrusted me to the faith before she leavin,g so they trained me to become a Septa too" she added, that was the story of Alayne after all.

"Who was that man Alayne? If we found him we could judge him" he sounded dependable and sincere, even so Alayne could feel the threat in his voice but she knew it was not for her.

"I don't know, My Lord he used many names, I only know he is a merchant" the lie slipped easily, long ago she was lying.

"Is there no one else then, family? I mean, my son says you called him brother" this time Lady Catelyn spoke, _because he is my brother_ , she said to herself _he isn't, stupid_ , the voice said, _Shut up!_ , replied _Alayne, Alayne, Alayne_ she had no brothers.

"I had a brother, a long time ago ... he left with my mother" Alayne cringed a little "they didn't want to do it, but they got sick and then they ...is what to they told me" she couldn't thought about the stories she had heard about the red wedding, like the Freys and the Boltons had killed Sansa Stark's mother and brother.

"Oh, I'm so sorry honey, I'm sorry I've diverted the subject" Lady Catelyn apologized to her.

"It’s nothing My Lady"

"My Lord, perhaps you should leave me a moment with her" said Lady Catelyn, Lord Eddard nodded to his wife, she was about to retire, then she remembered...

"My Lord, I am sorry for the audacity but ... could you send my apologies to your son? He was kind and tried to help me and I behaved unpleasant, I ... I was scared" Lord Eddard nodded but then looked at her strangely.

"How do you know he's my son?" he sounded surprised not angry, Alayne cursed her own stupidity before adding.

"He looks a lot like you my lord, I assumed he was your son just like the other boy" to her relief Lord Eddard smiled.

"If you wish, you can do it yourself, would you like to break the fast with my family?" she had dreamed about that the last two years but couldn’t say that of course so she accept politely.

"Yes, my lord would be honored, thank you very much." Lord Eddard smiled at her before retreating, then Alayne turned to face Lady Catelyn.

 

 

Catelyn

Catelyn had to suppress the anger that accumulated in her body at the mention of her husband's bastard, even an unknown girl could notice the familiarity in them, she could never give her lord husband a son that resembled him, she knew that the girl had no intention of offending her, had to suppress a grimace when she heard her surname Stone, a bastard from Gulltown, but even if she was a bastard she looked like a sweet and gentle creature, _and beautiful_ , Catelyn thought, _this girl looks like me, but she is more beautiful than I ever was or I will ever be._

"I'm very sorry for your situation, dear" had hurt the soul of the story of Alayne, a poor girl without a mother to take care of her "the man did you hurt?" Catelyn felt the need to ask.

"Not my Lady, he try but I ran and I got lost" the poor girl seemed so embarrassed that she felt a twinge of guilt for asking such an uncomfortable question, that's why she had asked Ned to leave.

"I understand, you said that the faith raised you, is not it? Why did you leave?" shee asked, although she could sense her response.

"It was supposed to be a septa but ..." Alayne hesitated but Catelyn nodded to encourage her to continue, "I had to take care of the youngest children and I really liked doing it so I realized that I wanted to have my own babies someday, mine, with a good man and that he would love me".

"I understand" of course she did, never understood how a woman could give up being a mother, she was never happier than when she had Robb, her first child, in her arms "How old are you, dear?"

"I will four and ten soon, my lady"

"You are very beautiful" a small smile appeared on her lips.

"Thank you very much, my lady." Catelyn looked at her then and couldn't help but notice her blue eyes, like a Tully, although her hair was not, Alayne said she was born in Gulltown, Catelyn couldn't help but think of her uncle Brynden serving as a knight in The Vale, could Ser Brynden have fathered this girl ?, or her own father ?, Lord Hoster, in one of his trips, although it was possible Catelyn knew that both men would never abandon a daughter to her luck but not all men knew about the existence of his bastards, so she accept that it was possible that this girl could have some Tully blood in her, maybe because of an ancestor _, but why is she here? Did the gods want her to come?_ , Catelyn didn't know what could be done with her, she simply did not have the heart to throw her away, they could send her back to Gulltown where she would be doomed never to be a mother, and probably would never be received back, there was a certain pride among the septa plus they could doubt from her maidenhead or she could end up with any peasant, she was too beautiful and good educated to marry any brute, even if she was a bastard she could get a decent husband, maybe an administrator or a third son.

"You said you were trained to become a Septa"

"Aye, My Lady"

"Do you know how to write?"

"Very well, my lady, I swear it and read and sew and make dresses" she had opened her eyes hopefully "I can also maths although ... I'm not very good at that" her cheeks turned pink, Catelyn knew that she was hurried and It was not right to do it without first consulting Eddard but Alayne looked as sweet as Sansa when she told her a story before going to sleep and did not want her to be sad again "I can also take care of babies... if they have one."

"It's okay Alayne can become a maid of my daughters, would you like? You could also help with the baby, Rickon, although I warn you, is a bit ungovernable" the girl nodded with a smile.

"Well, Lord Eddard, invite you to break the fast with us, let me take you, you must be hungry".

"Thank you very much" she stood up and was almost as tall as she was, Alayne seemed to hesitate before embracing her, it was not proper behavior for a bastard to hug a Lady but she couldn’t deny it, she felt a strange sadness when her arms wrapped around her, _poor girl, when it will have been the last time her mother embraced her?_ , Alayne withdrew in embarrassment looking at the floor.

"I'm so sorry, my Lady, my behavior was inappropriate"

"Don't worry, now let's go to the great hall, it's too late" the girl continued to admire every detail of the castle, _poor, it must be the first time she sees one_ , so she couldn’t help but think of Jon Snow, what would become the Bastard if her husband had never brought him to Winterfell?, _Would he live with his mother in a brothel?, Or would he have had a noble mother?_ , the thought twisted his insides, she preferred to think that the woman was some cheap whore, _would it be a beggar or a small thief?_ , that did not matter when they arrived at the room could see Jon Snow, the bastard, sitting next to her children, between Robb and Arya, a bastard among her legitimate children laughing as if he were one of them _, I’m about to seat another bastard on the table_ , she decided to look away.

"My Lord" greeted her husband, as soon as her children noticed Alayne, the sound of laughter was changed by absolute silence, it occurred to her that maybe they looked very similar to each other, Sansa blinked and was when she dropped her cup, she was even paler than the rest of her brothers.

"My Lady," Eddard answered as they sat down, Alayne was between her and Bran who looked at her with huge confused eyes. "She is Alayne, I have invited her to break the fast with our family, I hope you behave politely with her."

"Yes, father," her children chanted with the confusion marked on their faces, it was a good breakfast, milk, bread, cheese and apple cakes, if Alayne was hungry she did not show it, she ate with the grace of a queen, when she finished her meal thanked their politely and Catelyn told her she could go out the yard with the other children.

"My lord, if it doesn't bother you, I have decided that Alayne should become Arya's maid, she seems to know very well the behavior of a lady and perhaps our daughter needs the influence of someone else besides her sister".

"I think it's a great idea, my lady, Robb proposed something similar a while ago." Robb? The gods didn't allow her son to take notice her, although beautiful would never be suitable for him, Catelyn dismissed the idea, the boys of three and ten years were looking at pretty girls all the time and probably his son just wanted to behave like a hero saving a defenseless girl.

"Is noble on his part, as kind as his father" Ned smiled tenderly and approached her to kiss her sweetly on the lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know it's unlikely that Ned and Catelyn (especially Catelyn) will accept that a bastard and unknown girl will become her daughter's maid, but the paternal instincts of the are doing their thing, besides that I always thought that there were very few children in winterfell and a girl raised to be a septa and behaving like a lady would be the kind of influence Catelyn would want for Arya.


	4. Remember your place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Did you say something little girl?" Theon asked, his smile returned but this it was the most feigned smile had seen him give.
> 
> Alayne put a big smile on her face and couldn't tell which smile was more false now, if Theon's or hers "I think I expressed poorly, My Lord, what I meant was that there is a lot of space for everyone in this yard "she sounded so innocent that for a moment Jon believed her, but after he saw her eyes were pure steel there was nothing of the sadness and shyness of a few minutes ago.
> 
> Alayne and the boys hang out in the castle, after a discussion she wonders how dangerous is the presence of a certain smiling kraken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I'm horrible doing summaries:)

Jon

As soon as they left the courtyard Robb went to look for Ser Rodrick and Bran had gone climbing, leaving him alone with Arya, Sansa and Alayne. Arya and specially Sansa began to look at Alayne without hiding their confusion, Jon could see the discomfort of the girl even though she only smiled kindly and looked at the ground shyly, they were as silent as if they were in the crypts, ocasionally Alayne and Sansa would stare at each other only to withdraw their eyes when they feared being discovered, the silence was interrupted when Lady Stark announced that Alayne would become Arya's maid because she had been training to be a Septa and knew the behavior of a proper lady, even in that she looks like Sansa, Jon thought, the girl smiled at his little-sister although Arya looked confused and distrustful, if her job was to turn Arya into a Lady Jon felt sorry for she, father had told them that she was an orphan, Robb had asked him if she could stay and Jon joined him shortly after but Lord Eddard had told them that she was not a pet and it was up to her what would happen next,  both agreed with that, when Septa Mordane appeared in the yard to take the girls to her sewing class Jon couldn't help but wonder if she was ever a girl as young and beautiful as Alayne, of course she must have been young but beauty ... Jon couldn't imagine, the Septa was a woman so bad-tempered that sometimes it was hard to imagine that she wasn't always an old woman wrinkled and badly character, she was that way since Jon had a memory, her kindness was reserved for Lord and Lady Stark, Robb and above all Sansa, she seemed to be the only person for whom the Septa felt true affection, sometimes Jon thought he pleased the Septa even less than Lady Stark, he couldn't help but wonder if Alayne had ended up the same as Mordane had she become a septa, though he didn't believe it, her manners seemed more respectful than petulant and her look was sadder than angry, actually Jon thought that her eyes were the strangest thing about her, he saw her sitting leaning on one of the walls, Jon couldn't tell if she looked confused or impressed, she wasn't longer looking at the floor now she looked up at the towers that stood as high as if they could touch the sky, she seemed extremely calm as she looked the towards high, her hair that looked almost as dark as the coal was loose and the wind made the strands fly over her face although she didn't seem to care too much, Jon didn't even notice at what moment she had stopped looking at the towers and her gaze met his, he looked away embarrassed and pretended to be checking a sword but saw her get up and walk towards where he was.

"My Lord?" Jon forced himself to look up from the sword and face her.

"I'm not a lord, you can call me Jon" he said, she smiled and nodded.

"I'm glad to meet you Jon, my name is ... Alayne" he already knew her name even so he nodded.

"That's pretty." Sansa had once told him that the Ladies liked to be complimented on their names, she was right because Alayne smiled, her smile was tender and broad but didn't express more joy than her eyes did instead, Jon thought she looked even sadder.

"Thanks, it's kind of you" she continued smiling sadly.

"It's nothing"

"I wanted to apologize for my behavior in the forest, you tried to help me and I behaved shamefully with you, I'm sorry" the turn of the conversation unnerved him, he hadn't expected her to apologize for being scared, but apparently the Ladies were being taught to apologize for all.

"There's nothing to apologize, you were just scared there's nothing wrong with that" she gave him a look full of sadness, Jon was starting to feel a little uncomfortable not because he didn't know what to say or act politely, but because she seemed to have gotten sadder since they started talking and Jon couldn't help but feel that it was his fault even though that didn't make any sense.

"Forgive me, please" she almost sounded supplicant, made his conversation even stranger, usually it was he who asked for the apologizes.

"I forgive you, although I insist there is nothing to apologize" he smiled and she returned the smile, seemed a little more animated, Alayne seemed to see something behind him because his smile disappeared, Jon turned and saw Theon Greyjoy walking towards them with his smile from ear to ear.

"The beautiful Lady has already awakened" he told looking at Alayne and ignoring his presence.

"I'm not a lady," Alayne answered dryly.

"You don't look like a peasant so ... A bastard?" Theon asked, his smile only widening further.

"That's right, I'm Alayne Stone" the girl answered seriously, Stone was the surname of the bastards in the vale, remembered Jon, as was Snow in the north.

"This is a good place for bastards, Alayne Stone, Jon Snow will tell you that, you can be very good friends" he said trying to make fun of both, Jon wished to punch him that was common lately, but Alayne didn't flinch at all.

"I hope so," she replied looking into his eyes, Theon looked at her confused but didn't stop smiling.

"Well you know what the folk say about bastards ..."

"Take off!, Greyjoy" Jon said sharply, Theon was crossing the limits, Jon felt the anger growing in his body.

"I don't obey you, bastard, remember your place," he replied haughtily.

"His place? he lives here, maybe you should go and find yours" Jon couldn't believe what he had heard and apparently Theon either, for a moment the smug smile disappeared from his face.

"Did you say something little girl?" Theon asked his smile returned but this it was the most feigned smile had seen him give.

Alayne put a big smile on her face and couldn't tell which smile was more false now, if Theon's or hers "I think I expressed poorly, My Lord, what I meant was that there is a lot of space for everyone in this yard "she sounded so innocent that for a moment Jon believed her, but after he saw her eyes were pure steel there was nothing of the sadness and shyness of a few minutes ago.

"Jon!" Jon had never been happier to see Robb, his interruption and the own confusion prevented Theon from responding, his brother running towards them unconcerned, Alayne smiled at him and Jon thought that smile was sincere.

"What happened?" he ask Robb, trying to ignore what happened a while ago, he didn't want Alayne to get into trouble.

"Alayne, Theon," he said in greeting to them before replying "Nothing, that is, nothing serious, ser Rodrick says that the lessons will start later today, it seems that Beth is a little sick and wants to accompany her himself".

Theon looked from Robb to Alayne and from Alayne to Robb with a serious and strange expression, Alayne seemed to have forgotten that he was present and Jon was trying to do the same.

"Is it a bad thing?" Alayne asked worriedly as if she knew the girl.

"No, she just ate too many sweets," Robb reassured her.

"And what will we do now?" Jon asked his brother.

"I don't know, Theon, Jory has been looking for you, something about paying him what you owe or something," Robb said to his friend, Theon took his eyes from them and nodded to Robb before leaving without saying a word.

"Did I miss something?" he ask confused.

"Theon being Theon, nothing new" Jon answered, his brother hesitated but nodded, he was standing next to Alayne and it was amazing how much they looked _, like brothers_ , Jon thought, although Alayne would also look like Bran's sister and Sansa's of course, but Robb and Alayne looked the same age and if Alayne had reddish hair they could easily pass for twins, _maybe that was what Theon saw_ , Jon thought, the eyes above all seemed exact copy although the look couldn't be more different.

 

"Should we go with Maester Luwin?" Robb asked with a grimace, Jon couldn't help but do the same, it was early and he still didn't really want to stick his head in the books, Alayne seemed to notice their dilemma because she gave a little giggle.

"We could teach her the castle," Jon suggested, sooner or later someone would have to do it, so why not them?

"Aye, it's a good idea, would you like?" Robb ask, Alayne hesitated a moment before answering.

"I would love, My Lord but ... what happens if Lady Stark needs me for something" Jon could understand that she didn't want to make a bad impression even though she really wanted to accept the invitation.

"Then you will need to know the castle well so you don't get lost when Lady Stark or Arya needs you" he said trying to cheer her up, she smiled and nodded.

"Thank you, I would love," she said politely and started to follow them, she and Robb seemed to have made an unspoken agreement to pretend to have met under normal circumstances because none mentioned what happened at the wolfswood, she told him that she was from Gulltown and that she was in a trip along with other septas and it was lost and he never asked if she had brothers.

"I guess this must seem like a strange place to you, the folk say that the north is very different to the south" Jon asked curiously, he had never left the north.

"The north is much better" she stared at the ground, then shook her head "I mean, it's a very dirty place plus people seem kinder here" then Jon remembered Theon making fun of her and Jon feared he would go to Lord or Lady Stark to complain, 'he would not do that, right? Robb would be mad at him, besides father would not throw Alayne for that', yes, father would understand that she only said it because Theon was being an idiot.

"Aye and the castle looks better with the snowfall, have you ever seen snow?" Robb asked and she shook her head excitedly.

"Do you think it will snow soon? ... My lord" Alayne seemed embarrassed to have addressed Robb more as a friend than a lord although he didn't seem to have noticed it at all.

"It's likely, the cold is starting to rise," Robb replied.

"Winter is coming" Jon added, his brother nodded and she seemed somewhat worried, then they continued to show her the castle, she liked the glass gardens very much, they also showed her the broken tower although she looked a little pale when they got to that part of the route, then they took her to Godswood, Jon couldn't tell if she was impressed or uncomfortable by the heart tree, even so she went over and put a hand on the carved faces.

"They are very beautiful," she flattered softly, his expression now seemed melancholy and sad at the same time.

"Do you follow the new Gods right? The faith of the seven?" Robb asked.

"Is there a difference?" her voice was almost a whisper "they never really listen and if they do ... you do not know why or what they expect you to do"

 

Alayne

Alayne had loved the tour of the castle, was even more beautiful than in her dreams and she liked talking with Lord Robb and Jon _, my brothers, no, Sansa's brothers_ , she couldn't forget her place, she had done it time with the traitor and that could get her in trouble, she still didn't know if this was happening or was still trapped in a strangely cute dream even if that's it, she decided she wanted to stay, the tour had been a happy thing until they reached  the Godswood, _Were you? Did you send me?,_ she asked them, Alayne put a hand on one of the carved faces as if she could know the truth or as if they could listen to it.

"The trees are very beautiful," she said when she realized that the boys expected her to say something.

"You follow the new gods, right? The faith of the seven?" Lord Robb asked kindly.

"Is there a difference?" she replied in a low voice, she didn't want to offend the gods "they never really listen and if they do ... you don't know why or what they expect you to do" seemed to have confused them, because they looked at her strangely, _What should I do? Can I save them?, please tell me I can save them_ , she beg them in silence, didn't know what to do, but knew she wanted to save them all _, or is it a dream?_ , ask them, if it was a dream it would be cruel to wake her up even though she knew it couldn't be a dream, the dreams were not so long, and if it was a dream she would be Sansa no Alayne and the traitor would not be here.

"The gods are complicated" Jon agreed "but they have purposes for us, for each one, that must be a difficult job" if that was his job Alayne couldn't understand why they gave this purpose to her, she look at Robb, _they should to have given it to him or father they would know what to do_ , Alayne thought.

"Our father always says that if the gods gave us everything we asked, after a while we would find more curses than blessings" Robb added and Jon nodded, Alayne didn't know what to think about this but imagine the gods fulfilling the requests from the Lannisters or the Freys and the image terrified her, but she didn't have time to answer, when Alayne looked towards the tower she saw a small figure climbing, the figure looked so small that Alayne felt dizzy just seeing it.

"He will fall, you must go for him, make him come down!" she was terrified, she would never forgive herself if Lord Bran fell, _not again_ , she thought, but the boys just laughed while she looked at them angrily.

"Bran never falls" said Lord Robb "don’t worry he's like a little squirrel".

"How can you let your little brother do that? Something can go wrong, it could slip!" her voice started to sound like a shriek but they kept laughing, if she were Sansa she would pull their hair so they would take her seriously but she wasn't Lady Sansa, she was just a bastard and a maid had to learn her place, _Alayne, Alayne, Alayne, don't forget who you are._

"As Robb said, Bran is a little squirrel climbed before walking, besides father already surrendered and even Lady Stark's punishments can't stop him from climbing" Jon smiled at her with his white teeth for a moment Alayne wanted to slap him, but he was right, no it mattered how much they punished Bran he would keep climbing, maybe it would be different this time, then he remembered his conversation about the gods, _why did the gods give Bran such dangerous talent?,_ Alayne wondered.

"You will not tell Lady Stark, right?" Jon asked worriedly.

"I should, but I will not" she didn't want Bran to hate her but she would try to talk to him anyway, he was always a lovely child, he would surely listen to her "you have to talk to him, put some rules, he should not go up so high or in the cloudy days, what if it rains?, he could slip.

"You're right," Lord Robb admitted. "Do you want to meet baby Rickon?" Alayne couldn't help the emotion even though she knew Robb was just trying to distract her from Bran, the baby was the only one she hadn't seen, he was too young to wake up so early .

"I'd love it" Robb and Jon smiled at her and took her to Rickon's room, she saw a small boy pulling his nanny's hair, Robb dismissed the woman so they could be alone.

"Hello baby" Rickon gave her a smile letting her see her baby teeth, Sansa liked to play that this baby was her own baby, until he started to cry, then she would return it to her nurse or her lady mother to calm him down, she hug the boy and run a hand through his coppery hair.

"He's an adorable baby right?" Jon asked smiling

"The most adorable I've ever seen, how old is he?" She realized she did not know what year it was, although she had deduced it, she wanted to know exactly how much was missing for the king's arrival.

"Two years, he completed them recently"

"And you? How old are you?"

"Three and ten" replied Jon "Robb will turn four and ten into four moons"

"I will also be four and ten years old soon" she said forcing a smile, she had forgotten that Alayne was older than Sansa Stark when Lady Catelyn asked her, even so it was very close to Sansa to fulfill them, less than a moon shift, of course that no one else could know, but Petyr had told her they would celebrate together, that he had something special prepared for her, for some reason the thought sent chills down her spine.

"How could you!" a girl's cry attracted her attention, Lord Robb and Jon went to the door, Alayne laid the baby in the crib and approached them.

"I-I'm so sorry Sansa, I'll try to fix it." Alayne felt a twinge of guilt at hearing the voice.

"No, you can't, you have blacksmith's hands as Septa Mordane says, you always ruin everything!" Alayne was angry, that wasn't true, it was Sansa who ruined it and Arya who died.

"Seven hells, what happened now?" Lord Robb looked at them with his eyes rolling, as if he was used to doing this every day, for a moment Alayne didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry, she still remembered that look, _the look of elder brother._

"My dress!, I was working on it all week and she ruined it!" Said the angry girl crossing her arms, Alayne saw Jon stir uncomfortably, he never intervened when they argued, only Robb did.

"It was not apropos, I just wanted to help you" Lady Arya said the last thing softly, Alayne remembered, this also happened in her other life, Lady Arya had tried to help Sansa in the embroidery and ruined it by accident, the threads had become tangled and most of the flowers embroidered around the chest had been unpicked.

"It's not true, you ruined it on purpose!", The girl was still angry and Alayne was beginning to feel her cheeks turn pink, that dress seemed her so stupid now.

"I can fix it" she offered, she just wanted Sansa to stop screaming, Lady Arya seemed to be on the verge of crying, "I know how to make these stitches ... or I can make her another dress if you want Lady Sansa".

"Are you sure you can work with this cloth?, It is very delicate and expensive" asked distrustfully and looking her from head to toe, Alayne looked what she was wearing, wearing a cheap dress that was a bit short, then understood his distrust , 'she think I've never used anything nice'.

"When we met her she had a dress as nice as yours could, surely fix it" Jon said trying to reason with her, Alayne felt ashamed when Sansa looked at him out of the corner of her eye, she wanted Lord Robb to confirm it.

"Yes, her dress was nice, I'm sure she'll be able to fix yours" said her brother and she nodded.

"Good but if y she ruin another dress I'll tell our Lady Mother" she said before retiring beating her skirts, Alayne remembered that in her other life Sansa hadn't addressed her sister for more than a week.

"Thanks," said the gray-eyed girl, looking at her timidly.

"There's nothing to be thankful for, Lady Arya" the girl distrusted her perhaps because she expected her to scream like her sister.

"You just avoided a drama worthy of a song," Lord Robb told her and the four laughed.

Alayne accompanied them back to the yard with the baby Rickon in her arms, saw Lady Arya hanging from Jon's neck while he laughed, remembered what he had said her a while ago, 'he said my name was pretty' remembered Alayne, Sansa  had said him that once while trying to convince him to invite a girl to dance, Jon had told her that he didn't know how to talk to the ladies as an excuse and Sansa had told him to just praise their names because all the girls liked that , after discussing a bit more Jon had reluctantly agreed to invite a girl to dance while Sansa looked at him with a triumphant smile, the memory made her smile but her happiness ended when she saw Arya again, she looked so small ... Alayne try imagine her carrying a baby in her belly and the image horrified her, Alayne knew that the trueborn son to Lord Bolton had died and that his bastard son had become an heir, _perhaps it wasn't too bad, Mya and Jon are good people and they are bastards_ , Alayne thought, but she knew that wasn't the case, _good men don't impregnated girls_ , her Lady mother had once told her, very young girls often they died having babies, besides Arya would never want to marry a Bolton or Frey or Lannister.

"Come here Rickon!" Lady Arya extended her arms to the baby, Alayne was about to release him to run to his sister but then saw Theon Greyjoy approach and instinctively she hug the baby even stronger, didn't understand how Lord Robb could trust in him, she never did , not even when she was Sansa.

"Rickon?" the baby began to writhe and Lady Arya looked at her strangely for not letting go of her little brother, _You are Alayne remember your place_ , reluctantly released the baby and saw him running with his small plump legs towards his sister _, you will not kill him, neither him nor Bran,_ she said to herself as she looked at the traitor, _before I'll kill you myself_.


	5. Six littles direwolves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alayne tries to spend more time with Lady Arya and tells a story to the little Lord Bran.
> 
> "But lions should be stronger than dogs" Lord Bran complained.
> 
> "This wasn’t just a dog, the Hound was special, he was the only one who could save them"
> 
> "And what happened? Did the direwolfs find their mother and father?" he asked worriedly. 'No' thought Alayne 'they never did and they never came home'.

Arya

Arya didn't understand why her Lady Mother had assigned her a new maid, or indeed if she did, her mother wanted her to sew and look as beautiful as Sansa, so she made Alayne her maid to remind her that she should always be like her older sister, the girl was so beauty and apparently sewed as well as she, Robb and Jon said they had met her in the forest, then she told them that she was trained to become Septa but that she didn't really want to be a and for that reason she agree to stay and work with them, Septa Mordane didn't like her, said she was an ungrateful girl who had abandoned the faith even though it was thanks to the mercy of the seven that she was raised as a lady instead of being a beggar in the lanes, she had said it was her bastard blood's guilt that made her treacherous, that annoyed Arya, the bastards were not bad, Jon was good and Alayne looked good too, Arya got so mad that she tried to go out going from the room, stumbling over the thread of Sansa's stupid dress, she came over to apologize and help her and that made her ruin it even more.

"It's a nice dress," Alayne said, after dinner, Alayne had escorted her to her room, she was working on Sansa's dress, mother had asked Alayne to teach her how to make the stitches correctly while they were arranging the dress, Sansa had said that he had made a mistake in her sewing instead of giving it away.

"Yes, Sansa always does beautiful things" she does everything well, Arya thought, it wasn't fair everyone always said how beautiful Sansa was and how perfect her dresses and seams were, Alayne had barely been with them for a day and Arya had already heard everyone in the castle talking about how beautiful she was and that Sansa would be so much more beautiful because of her beautiful auburn hair, instead of the color so simple that Alayne had, nobody told Arya that she was pretty.

"If you want I can make you a dress like this" Alayne proposed, Arya didn't like the dresses that Sansa wore, they ruined and got dirty by anything and it was difficult to ride with silks and lace.

"No, thanks." Alayne looked disappointed and sad for the answer.

"I think it's time to brush your hair" Alayne smiled although she seemed on the verge of crying, she removed Sansa's dress, 'it looks prettier than before ruining it', Arya noticed, the girl approached her to let go of her hair and brush it, at least it didn't hurt her like the septa or other maidens, she began to brush it by the ends, untangling it gently and then it went up to the roots, she don't stop brushing until the hair was shiny and Arya started to hurt her neck then she made a braid, she said it was so she would not get entangled while she slept, Arya thanked her and she smiled, _she would prefer to be Sansa's maid_ , Arya thought, they would get along, they were both pretty and liked the dresses and brushing their long hair, mother had given Alayne some fabrics so that she could make some clothes for her, since she had nothing besides some borrowed clothes, she retired to the rooms that she had been assigned shortly after.

***

 

It had been almost two weeks since Alayne had become her maid, she was always kind, but she always tried to make her dresses or complex hairstyles, but she never got angry when Arya refused, she had become friends with Beth and Jeyne with whom she used to sit down at lunch time, Jeyne had stopped calling her Arya horseface after Alayne threatened to accuse her with her father, the girl had been angry with Alayne for a while but she excused her after Alayne helped her embroider her dress, Sansa even asked her for help sometimes, all had been impressed by how beautiful Sansa's dress after she repaired it, even Septa Mordane had admitted that the embroidered flowers were very beautiful, but then she repeated that it was thanks to the faith that she had learned to embroider so well.

"You must cross the thread, like this" Alayne said, showing her a movement between the needle and the thread that Arya still didn't understand.

"They keep coming out crooked" Arya said looking at her work, Alayne smiled at her although she looked very tired as if she hadn't slept at all during the night.

"It don't look so bad"

"It's not true, look horrible" Arya complained, she had been trying to fix those stitches for a long time, the septa would revise her work tomorrow and it had not improved at all.

"They don't look horrible, look pretty, you just need to practice a little more" said the girl trying to cheer her up.

"Yours and Sansa's always look good" object Arya.

"Because I'm much older and I've had more time to practice like Lady Sansa" that wasn't true, Beth was six years old and already embroidered much better than Arya.

"Septa Mordane says I have blacksmith hands, she's right" lamented Arya, the girl gave her a look of pity that made her feel ashamed and regretful to have said the latter.

"That's not true, the septa should not be bad with you ... nor your sister" said the last thing in a low voice "you don't like to sew, that's all"

"But that doesn't matter, all the ladies have to know how to make dresses" said Arya, if it were not true, mother would not insist so much on her sewing classes and hated being a lady for that "it does not matter, if they like it or not"

"Yes but ... surely not all ladies sew, surely there are many who don't like it either" Alayne shrugged, at least she didn't scold her for not liking sewing, Arya had never said that to anyone but Jon.

"I'd like to be outside, go out riding and train with the boys but I always have to be here sewing," she confessed finally, Alayne looked a bit disappointed but didn't get angry or get angry instead she nodded.

"Well, you can’t train but ... why don't we go see the boys?"

Arya nodded, she preferred to see the boys training than to sew, _I wish I could train with them too_ , she thought sadly, but at least she could see them that was better than nothing, Alayne grabbed her hand and they started walking towards the yard, Jon and Robb were in full 'combat' when they sat down to watch, three days ago they had played that they were in a tournament and began to cheer the boys up as if they were in a fight to the death, they had laughed so much that Arya had started to hurt the belly, it was fun until the Septa appeared and scolded Alayne for giving such a bad example and behaving like a peasant, Arya tried to defend her but the Septa threatened to tell her Lady mother and Arya didn't want Alayne to be thrown out for her guilt, even if they didn't like the same things they were friends, Alayne had been so embarrassed that she had barely looked up from the floor.

"I wonder who will win" she said smiling derisively, Arya smiled too, this time they bet on who would win even in silence so that nobody could hear them, several duels passed before the training ended, when Robb began to practice with Theon, Alayne tensed and made a face, she liked Theon even less than Jon, although Arya didn't know why, as far as Arya was concerned both they had barely spoken.

"Alayne, tired of sewing little sister?" Jon asked when he approached them, greeted to Alayne and then made fun of her as he used to do these days.

"It's not fair, I also want a sword!" she couldn't help complaining, the boys were always outside using swords or bows or riding horses while the girls were locked and sewing.

"The Ladies don't use swords" said Jon stirring her hair and Arya made a face, she didn't like to be called Lady.

“That isn’t fair”

"She's right, nobody teaches girls how to defend themselves" Alayne said, Arya looked at her surprised, at last someone agreed with her, although she was the last person would have expected.

"Yes, but ... the girls have their parents and brothers to protect them" Jon said although he no longer sounded mocking but the doubt filtered into his voice.

"I don't have a father or brothers, who is going to protect me?" Arya thought that it sounded pretty sad "who protected me when I was in the forest? What if you had not found me?"

"It’s right, but…"

"Teach us, we'll both practice together and no one else will find out", Alayne sounded serious it didn't seem to be a jape, Arya looked at Jon hopefully, once she had tried to convince Sansa to play together like the boys did, but she had gasped with outrage that this was not the behavior of a proper lady.

"I can't, I would really like to do it but if someone finds out ..." Arya knew that by ‘someone’ Jon was referring to her mother, Lady Catelyn, for a moment she felt guilty for putting him in that situation.

"I'm sorry Jon, I don't want to get you in trouble" Alayne said she also seemed to feel guilty, sometimes Arya thought it was curious that Alayne looked so much like her lady mother, but Jon seemed to like her a lot, although it didn't surprise Arya, Jon was a good boy and mother was very unfair to him.

"It's nothing, I think it was a good idea Alayne" he said, they both looked her sadly.

"Then we will stay locked up all day" the idea made Arya want to cry, for a moment she thought that she could finally do something that she liked and better yet, a girl would practice with her, the girls never wanted to do anything with her, but that would only get Jon and Alayne in trouble, the Septa would hate them if she found out.

"Can we go riding, you like to ride, we can make a deal with your lord father we will ride together for a while after our practices" Alayne seemed to want to make her happy.

"And Jon come with us so we can go to the town" added Arya, father would agree, Arya knew, didn't matter if she had to endure the classes with the Septa if afterwards she could go out to ride with Alayne and Jon, Alayne would It would help to improve her stitches and thus nobody would get angry.

"You know how to ride?" Jon asked looking at Alayne, in general the baseborn girls didn't know how to ride horses but Alayne seemed anything less baseborn.

"Mmm, aye, I can ride." Alayne looked at the floor, nervous.

"I didn't think there were many horses in a Sept," said Jon.

"There were a lot of mules" she said with a shrug, making Arya and Jon laugh.

 

Alayne

Alayne didn't want to believe what she had said in the afternoon, to learn to use a sword?, how had she come up with such nonsense? She was grateful that Jon had refused, she would never be good using a sword _, though to Arya would like,_ she recalled, she just wanted to please Lady Arya, despite everything she sometimes still didn't understand her, she wanted to be a good sister even if they were not really sisters the friends could get along just as well, but Arya didn't like to be with she, Arya always wanted to be outside with the boys and Alayne thought that if she played the swords with her she could please her a little more ... Alayne was a bastard, nobody would care if she learned to use a sword, she reminded her friend Mya Stone to anyone he cared that he liked to use a knife _, but Arya is a lady and you're supposed to teach her how to behave correctly_ , then Alayne remembered the stories of Dorne's ladies and princesses who used swords, bows and whips, the Mormont women were also warriors and they were from the north, Sansa had heard Joffrey mocking Robb for allowing a woman to fight at his side, _why could they and Arya not?,_ at least they could go out to ride a horse, Arya always liked to ride, Alayne remembered when Sansa went out riding with Lady Margaery, _it was fun_ , thought Alayne, once in a while, she also went out riding with Mya and Myranda, although lately Petyr had forbidden her to approach them.

"Alayne," said a small voice, Lord Bran came running up to her.

"Is something wrong, little lord?" she ask looking at his big eyes, lately she almost always spent time with Bran at night, she was terrified of sleeping, the first day had been the worst, she hadn't dared to close her eyes afraid to fall asleep and wake up in king's landing or caught in the eyire with her mad aunt, _Sansa's aunt_ , she corrected herself, sometimes she just cried in silence, then left and sat alone in the yard until dawn, until once lord Bran appeared so suddenly that he had almost made her scream, the little boy had had a nightmare so he went out to face his fears and find the monsters, but he had only found her.

"Nothing, could you tell me another story?" Said the little boy pleading her with his eyes, Bran liked stories of fear and Alayne had many to tell, in his stories there were no giants or dragons, only princes and evil kings, prisons made of gold or stone and weasels that ate people.

"You should be sleeping, little lord," she said to the child, in fact both should, it was too late.

"I don't want to sleep, I'm still not sleepy" Alayne smiled, Bran was six years old, if she remembered anything, it was that Bran never got tired, sometimes he seemed to have more briskness than the whole family together.

"Then what story would you like?" she ask.

"One with monsters" replied the excited child, Alayne nodded, took his hand and took him to his room, after tucking him she sat on the side of the bed.

"And what if the story scares you? What if a monster comes out of the wardrobe?" She asked quietly approaching him, as if afraid that the monsters would listen to her, Bran fixed his gaze on the wardrobe and at that moment Alayne take advantage to tickle him, they both laughed until they were out of breath.

"The monsters can't see me if I hide under the sheets" replied Bran, crossing his arms and with a winning smile on his face, "my sister told me."

"She's right," agreed Alayne, when Lord Bran was smaller and scared he used to go to the room that Sansa and Arya used to share, because they would not laugh at him like Jon or Robb, but sometimes the girls also got scared and the three would go to wake up Robb, who would look at them angry and sleepy before muttering something and making room for them to get into his bed, sometimes Jon was also there and they ended up so tight that it was a miracle that no one fell off the bed.

"So if you will tell me the story?" Lord Bran asked smiling.

"Aye, but it will not be a story of monsters, it will be one of wolves" Alayne had spent a lot of time in the huge wolf she had seen before returning home, _this is not your home_ , said the hateful voice again, but ignored it and she thought again about the wolf, _no! The direwolf_ , that wasn't a simple wolf, it was Ghost, now she felt like an idiot for not having recognized him from the beginning, but why was he in the vale?, _maybe he was a real ghost_ , thought Alayne, maybe it was the ghost wolf that always heard howling in the mountains, surely Ghost had died just like Lady, if not he would have protected Jon.

"The wolves sound good"

"But these will be more than wolves, they will be direwolves, like the stealth of your house" she said and Bran nodded excitedly.

"There were once six little direwolves, they were all brethren, small and hairy, they had moved far away from home and now they just wanted to go back to mother and father, but the more they tried to get closer, they moved away, once while the little wolves were looking for their way, an evil lion approached them, told them he could take them home because he was a great tracker and was sure he had smelled their mother, the older brother looked at him suspiciously but his little brothers and sisters were scared and hungry so he decided to accept the help of the lion, but the lion took them to his herd, never had intention to take them home, he just wanted to eat them, he and his horrible herd had foam on their snouts and prepared to devour them all ... "

"What happened? The lions killed them?" Lord Bran asked with a big yawn, _Yes_ , Alayne thought, _they killed them all_

"Let me continue" she said smiling "when the evil lions were about to attack, the little direwolves remembered what their direwolf father had taught them, the pack survives, they began to growl and showed their little teeth, the cruel lion just laughed of them, but then when everything was lost a huge Hound appeared and it was the biggest Hound the direwolves had seen, it was much bigger than the lions, one of them, the cowardly lion came running with his tail between his paws, when the evil lion tried to attack one of the direwolf sisters, the huge Hound leapt and caught the lion's throat in his mouth, no lion could compete against him, the Hound was the most ferocious and strong animal that ever lived, after a while only chunks of the horrible lion herd remained "

"But lions should be stronger than dogs" Lord Bran complained.

"This wasn’t just a dog, the Hound was special, he was the only one who could save them"

"And what happened? Did the direwolves find their mother and father?" he asked worriedly. _No, they never did and they never came home._

"You'll know that tomorrow, it's too late and you have to sleep" she said, Lord Bran tried to protest but his huge yawn responded for him, Bran stretched before finally going to bed and falling asleep, Alayne observed him with a little envy, she wished to sleep so quietly, sometimes she had so many nightmares that she woke up even more tired than when she went to bed, her own yawn distracted her thoughts, she was very tired, after a while she snuggled up next to Bran, she felt a great tranquility in her when the Boy put an arm around her waist and settled beside her, Alayne hugged him and for the first time since she arrived had sweet dreams instead of nightmares.

 

When Alayne awoke it was barely dawn, she tried to untangle Bran carefully not to wake him up and gave him a little kiss on the forehead, she left quietly and tried to remember the dreams she had had, she dreamed about the small pack of direwolves playing and scampering one another, the little she-wolf was pulling her older sister's ear while she snarled at her to stop doing it, she couldn't remember the rest but she knew it had been nice and that was enough for her.

As soon as she got to her room she looked in the mirror, she was afraid that her hair would start to fade, Alayne had dark brown hair, not auburn, but her hair seemed to be fine, she started to brush it and then she made a braid in the shape of a diadem around her forehead to keep the strands from bothering her during the day, yet she left the rest loose because she liked the way she looked, had to find a way to darken her hair when it started to fade, look in the library tower while the rest took their classes, Alayne sat by the open window to see the sun come out, the sky looked beautiful, and that made her happy, after dawn was full went to the room of Lady Arya, the girl was sleepy and despite of the braid her hair was a mess, she help her to get dressed and then brush her hair until it shone, usually Lady Arya asked her to make a pigtail or simple braid, but this time Alayne wanted to try something new.

"What is it?" Arya asked curiously when Alayne began to braid from under her ear, but this braid went up to encircle her forehead.

"It is so that your hair doesn't get tangled, so when you run it will stay in place" he had also added to the braid a blue ribbon that stood out beautifully in her dark hair.

"And that?" she ask, pointing to the ribbon.

"It's to make it look prettier, do you like it?" Alayne hoped she would like it, it was a simple style, a braid that wrapped around his head like a crown, started under her ear and ended in the same place, but the blue ribbon bright made it look more complicated than it really was, and make it stand out more.

"Aye, it's very pretty" she said, admiring herself in the mirror, "and it will not get tangled up when we go riding," she added, smiling.

"Aye, now we're going to be late" she said pulling her hand, as soon as they left Arya decided to challenge her.

"I'll bet you I get there first" she said looking at her with her big gray eyes, Alayne thought that her eyes looked like those of Lady Catelyn and Sansa, not the color but the form, big eyes with thick and long eyelashes.

"I bet you don't"  assure her, and both began to run, Lady Arya was very fast but Alayne had longer legs so the advantage wasn't too much, so when both came to the salon was a draw.

"I told you," said Arya, panting.

"No, it was a draw" refuted Alayne resting her hands on her knees to breathe better, then they laughed together.

"How nice!, it's a beautiful style" complimented little Beth approaching them and looking at Arya with attention, she was right Arya looked very pretty like that.

"I bet Alayne can you the same hairstyle" Arya said.

"Really?" Asked the little girl with pink cheeks.

"Aye, I can make you one" assure her, then both went to the tables, Alayne almost always brake her fast with Beth, Jeyne, Jory, ser Rodrick and Lord Vayon, she liked to sit with them, especially Jory who always made her laugh, saw Arya go to the high table and Jon looking at her confused before smiling, then saw Arya punch him in the shoulder and smile too, had even heard Lady Sansa congratulate her sister for her hair, Lady Catelyn and Lord Eddard arrived a couple of minutes later, Jon fixed his eyes on his plate and Alayne couldn't help feeling sorry for him, Lady Catelyn also congratulated Arya but Lord Eddard gave her a strange look before smiling.

Alayne enjoyed his meal until the traitor sat next to ser Rodrick on the other side of the table, for some reason that made her lose her appetite, they had barely spoken to each other since that day and Alayne was still wondering what to do with him, what it was better to kill him, of course, but knew she was too weak to do it, Theon would leave her like a colander before she could do something, and in spite of everything he doubted that someday she might have the courage to try, _you are a silly girl and weak that can't do anything to protect her little brothers,_ the voice said again, Alayne hated the voice, wanted it to go away forever.

"It was a delicious meal" she flatter after everyone finished, the traitor looked at her but she ignored him and pretended that he wasn't present.

After accompanying Lady Arya to her classes, Alayne quickly went to the library tower, had to figure out what to do with her hair, could not allow her to fade, Alayne needed her hair, checked all the books that talked about the female beauty that by the way were very few, but found nothing.

"Is Lady Alayne looking for something?" She was so scared that she was about to release the book, Maester Luwin gave her a tender smile.

"It's nothing master, I just wanted to find recipes to make my hair softer" she said smiling.

"Your hair is already pretty my girl, you will only ruin it if you try to put anything without being careful" he advise her, then something occurred to her.

"Is right master," she said smiling and releasing the book "I've always wondered how women who have pink or green hair to care for it and where they inherit that beautiful hair, I would have liked that mine was purple like amethysts" she said dreamily and the maester burst out laughing.

"Those hair aren't natural sweet girl, the dye is brought from Myr or Tyrosh" Maester explained with a smile.

"Really? Then I would like to use one once" she replied with joy.

"Maybe one day, but those are very expensive and difficult to get in Westeros, a scam if you ask me," the maester said with a gesture of disinterest with his hand.

"And that's why?" she ask with genuine curiosity.

"The dye is obtained from seeds and flowers, many elderly women use coffee seeds or almonds to darken their white hair," the master explained.

"Coffee seeds, almonds? But how is that possible?"

"The old women put it to boil until the color comes out and then cover her hair with the mixture" Alayne was about to jump for joy but she restrained herself and asked Maester Luwin to recommend a book with poems, she still liked them a lot and he remembered that the best ones were in Winterfell, Maester gave him an old book called 'Love and magic in the seven kingdoms', remembered this book, Sansa had loved the poems dedicated to Aemon the dragonknight and his beloved queen Naerys, even now still they were beautiful, but Alayne didn't think so much of the gallant knight Aemon, but the wicked husband of the beautiful queen Naerys, King Aegon the unworthy, Sansa had never paid attention to him part of the story, _poor foolish girl_ , thought Alayne sadly before closing the book and going to look for Rickon.

 

When Alayne went to look for Lady Arya she could not help noticing the look that Septa Mordane gave her, Alayne did not understand why she disliked her so much, she didn't know what she had done wrong so she decided to ignore her while walking with the girl, Jon had spoken with his lord father to allow them to go riding to the city, Arya seemed to be about to float with joy which made Alayne laugh, accompanied her to change clothes, she put on a pair of breeches, boots and a blouse with ruffles instead Alayne had decided to wear a simple gray wool dress with black boots, had to prevent Arya from running, could not risk that the septa see them doing disorder, as soon as they reached the courtyard saw Jon and some servants saddling the horses .

"Are you sure you know how to ride?" Jon asked for the tenth time.

"I already told you yes, someone had to go to collect the alms and that was me" she replied, she had that excuse in the morning while passing in front of the little Sept "may not be as good as Arya but I'm not a horrible rider either"

"Shut up Jon, the more we talk the more time we lose" Arya said annoyed, Alayne never thought she was capable of talking to her brother that way even though Jon seemed used to it because he only messed up her hair and smiled.

"Well, why don't you take my horse better? It's more docile than the others and probably safer"

"And what about you?"

"I'll take another of the stables, I think I've ridden every horse in the castle," he replied calmly, Alayne nodded, she was not a horrible rider but she preferred not to risk anyway.

"Why better she take Sansa's mare? The poor animal has not left the castle for years," said Arya pointing to the brown mare standing in one of the stables, Jonquil, Alayne recalled, had been given to Sansa for her eighth name's day, but she scarcely went out riding with her.

"Because she is Sansa's" Jon replied "we can't just take what is hers"

"Jon is right, I can't take something that is not mine, much less without permission" she said to Lady Arya, to her surprise the girl rolled her eyes and ran out, Alayne looked at Jon for an answer but the boy  shrugged just as confused as she, after a few minutes Arya appeared again in the courtyard panting.

"Sansa says she dodn't care when the mare comes back clean" Arya said as she took a deep breath, Jon looked at her for her answer so he agreed to go on Lady Sansa's mare.

"Her name is Jonquil, she's very calm, you have nothing to worry about," Jon said as she brought the animal to where it was, Jon helped Arya and then her before getting on his own horse, they would not go far, just they would take a couple of laps around the city, yet Jory accompanied them for safety.

"The town is very beautiful," she said as they passed through some of the small houses, she had never noticed it, but she felt something special, something cheerful as they passed by the children playing happily and some commoners making small reverences to them, Alayne remembered her other life in king's landing, the smell of rot and the desperate people asking for coins to avoid dying of hunger.

"Aye, the smallfolk come here before winter" Jon answered, then Arya looked at them defiantly before galloping even harder, Jon sighed and went after her, Jory chuckled at her side.

"Does my lady join the race?" He asked smiling, Alayne nodded before galloping her mare and going after Jon and Arya with Jory almost on par with her, it was really fun but she couldn't help thinking how horrible it should be her hair, unlike Arya who had all the hair fastened on her head, she had her hair almost completely loose without counting the braid that had been made on the crown of her head, it did not take long before reaching them, the three of them began to laugh, _That wasn't so bad_ , she thought, she had never liked to ride a horse but the race had been fun and she had defeated Jory, she smiled triumphantly when she saw him arrive.

"You guys are cheats" he accused them laughing.

"Or maybe ... we're just better riders" Jon replied with a shrug, the four continued racing for a long time before finally returning to the castle, Alayne had missed most of them but she didn't care, she had felt good anyway.

 While they were returning to the castle, an old woman approached them, the woman barely had a few white hairs and her skin very wrinkled, she looked so old that Alayne could not help wondering how it was possible that she still lived, but then she scolded herself for thinking something so unpleasant, Jon gave her a silver stag and she gave her a couple of copper coins, the woman gave them a toothless smile before leaving, as soon as they arrived at the castle Jon stopped her and Arya.

"At the Godswood, after everyone sleeps, we will train for a while" he said in a very low voice, Arya's face lit up but Alayne could barely avoid a grimace before smiling.

"But ... what will I say to Br-lord Bran?" she didn't mean to say that out loud but it was too late. "I mean, sometimes I tell him stories at night," she added.

"Tell him you fell asleep, please!" Arya begged, Alayne nodded doubtfully, she would compensate Bran, but if she was sincere, she would rather tell stories to Lord Bran than play with swords, _how will you protect him with stories?,_ a mocking voice in her head, the voice was right, she was just a weak girl she could never protect Bran, she could not even protect herself, the only one who had always protected her was the hound _not you, Sansa_ , just Sandor had protected Sansa and Sandor wasn't here.

"Okay, I'll promise you I'll continue the story tomorrow"

"Thank you, thank you, thank you" said Lady Arya who had rushed towards her and wrapped her skinny arms around her waist, Alayne had been surprised by her reaction but the hug felt good, so she smile returning the hug while Jon was laughing at her side.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I don't plan on converting Alayne into Arya 2.0, she feels very guilty and just wants to get along better with Arya, I've always noticed that while the girls would like to spend more time together, in general Sansa was never willing to give in and do something that Arya will enjoy, until Arya just got tired of trying to join her and please her.


	6. Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm glad we're friends," she said confidently, Jon had to force himself not to look away.
> 
> "Me too, I like to be friends ... all three" he said before giving up and looking away, he just couldn't keep his eyes fixed, her eyes seemed to have something else ... something that made Jon feel it was inappropriate to look at them.
> 
> "I did not say it for Arya, that is, I also like to be friends with her, but I was talking about us, you and me, I'm glad we're friends" she said with a smile that Jon returned.
> 
> Jon and Alayne share a moment together after training with Arya.
> 
> I'm sorry, I'm horrible with the summaries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm sorry if the previous chapter was a little bit of filler, but I needed to establish the friendship between Alayne and Arya realistically, this chapter is focused a bit more on Jon and Alayne.

Jon

It was almost midnight when Jon went to Godswood and sat next to the heart tree to wait for the girls, he had felt bad for Arya after refusing to teach her to use a sword, but if Lady Stark found out ... Jon preferred not to think about that now if he had depended on it he would have taught Arya to use a sword a long time ago, besides Arya always complained about not being able to play with the other girls, she hated playing dolls, and Sansa and Jeyne would stick her needles to sew on her fingers before using a wooden sword or messing up her dresses, Jon had noticed that Alayne was little excited by the idea of learning to use a sword even though she had been the one to make the proposal in the first place, instead, she had accepted, after dinner he had heard her promise Bran that she finish telling the story another day, the girl caused him to be curious, sometimes seemed really happy to live with them and really seemed to like Winterfell a lot, other times she seemed lost and frightened, like a puppy looking for her mother, in general almost everyone in the castle seemed to love her especially Lady Stark, although Jon supposed it was because she looked like a younger version of herself as well as old version of Sansa, and that was exactly what made her a outsider to many others, he had heard the servants rumored that her resemblance to the family wasn't normal, there were even rumors that she was Catelyn Stark's cousin or half-sister and that she had brought her to raise Winterfell as a favor to her father or uncle, the strangest rumor Jon heard was that the girl was actually the daughter of Lady Lysa Arryn and that they were hiding her from her lord Arryn for being an affront to his honor and that was the reason she was welcomed, Jon couldn't help but frown when he heard that, Robb and him had met the girl by accident but apparently a bastard always had to carry lies, betrayals and dishonor on his back, although Jon had to admit that he was surprised by the genuine affection that Lady Stark seemed to have her, he doubted that the woman could hate someone who looked so much like her daughter, besides that Robb had confessed him that his mother suspected that he had some Tully blood, _something? she'll mean quite_ , Jon had thought, except for her hair Alayne looked like a Tully of Riverrun from head to toe, Jon could not help but wonder if Lady Stark would consider her a family if she were actually the bastard daughter of one of her relatives, _family, duty, honor, but the bastards are not true family_ , or at least that was the case with Jon, no matter how embarrassing or shameful, a part of him envied that Alayne could approach their brothers and sisters without Lady Stark looked at her with contempt, she could walk the baby Rickon without her hawk eyes fixed on the nape of the neck, Alayne came to talk with him often and Jon could swear that this was the only behavior that Lady Stark disapproved of her, every time she saw them together the woman wrinkled her nose and walked away, no matter how bad it felt to think about it but he was sure that Catelyn Stark considered Alayne more family in these two weeks than Jon in three and ten years old, he shook the idea of her head, _Alayne isn't her husband's daughter, it isn't an insult to her honor living under her noses_ , Jon reminded himself, besides Arya seemed happier since she had arrived or at least not so miserable and Jon was grateful to her for that, even if she wasn't interested in fencing she had agreed to make Arya happy and that was more important to Jon than his childish envy, Lady Stark could do whatever she wanted but that would not change the impression he had of Alayne, he couldn't help looking down when he saw Arya and Alayne approaching where he was, Arya with his huge smile excited and Alayne with his shy but friendly smile.

"Let's start fast, before it's late" Arya said in a whisper.

"Wait, we just arrived and there's still time," Alayne replied, rolling her eyes at Arya's impatience.

"So it is also use a sword isn't as easy as you think little sister, especially because half of the swords are bigger than you" said Jon kneeling to look her in the eyes, Arya looked indignant.

"Then why did you make us come?" the little girl grumble offended.

"Arya lets Jon explain what you have to do, and lower your voice" Alayne said the last thing holding a finger to her lips, seemed scared with the idea of being caught, and if Jon was totally honest, he was too and quite.

"Well let's start" said Jon taking three wooden swords out of a saddlebag and giving them one each, Arya seemed ecstatic and happy, then taught Alayne how to hold the handle correctly, taught them to thrust and disarm an opponent, Alayne who seemed very nervous at first, now seemed to be having fun, the strands of hair began to come out of her long braid making her look a little disheveled although Jon thought she looked better like that.

"We won!" Arya shouted after putting the wooden sword under Jon's neck, Alayne had also put the sword in the same place.

"Shhhh, Ar-Lady Arya lowers your voice," corrected Alayne, opening her eyes wide.

"Tell me, Arya, I do not like being called a lady," replied Arya, frowning.

"Good, but only when we are alone or with Jon" both girls nodded in agreement.

"You know it's a bad idea to have a conversation before killing your opponent?" Jon said attracting their attention, of course, he had purposely lost, as part of the game, but Alayne gave him a wicked smile before sticking the wooden tip into his neck.

"Dead," she said, withdrawing the sword, her smile reminding Sansa's every time she managed to get someone to do something she wanted.

"Maybe you should fight instead of listening to someone else's conversations" Arya scolded mockingly, Jon came over and started messing up her hair with laughter.

"Hey, I'm the one who has to untangle her hair later" Alayne said in an angry tone as she frowned, though from the small curve in her lips Jon could tell he was struggling not to laugh.

"I'm sorry," Jon said, raising his arms in surrender.

"Again!" Arya shouted.

"Shhh," Jon and Alayne silenced at the same time, the gesture made them both smile, it was curious how she could look like both Lady Stark and Sansa at the same time that she resembled nothing like it at all.

Jon and Arya fought a bit longer with Alayne as a spectator, she told them she was tired and preferred to watch the duel, Jon used to see her sitting next to Arya watching him train with Robb and Theon, once Theon had mocked him asking him if he tried to impress her fighting with a toy sword, had told him not to worry, that surely Alayne would give her favor to him since her other options were the peasants, Jon had been so angry that he attacked Theon with anger and had let him loose the sword, _congrats bastard, surely Lady Stone would like to know she has a protector_ , said Theon mockingly emphasizing ‘Lady Stone’, since that day when Alayne had sent him to find his place, Theon had become absolutely unbearable with respect to her, though he was not such an idiot as to get mess Alayne directly, he knew that Lord and Lady Stark appreciated her besides that Robb had threatened him with behead, if he propass with her, but that only made Theon bother Jon even more, he approached when nobody else was nearby and started to annoy him, sometimes Jon could see Alayne looking too far away to listen, but her expression was cold until That Theon was retiring, if there was something in Theon was right was that Jon didn't like to lose when she was look, but didn't know very well why.

"We should go to sleep" Alayne alerted causing him to be distracted and Arya gave him a blow to the fingers making him drop the sword, for a moment he had forgotten that she was here and hadn't been able to avoid feeling discovered even though everything was inside of his head and she could not know it anyway, it wasn't a strong blow, Arya was very small and skinny, but still she had to suppress a wince.

"I'm sorry," said his little sister, shrugging.

"Are you good?" Alayne asked approaching to examine his fingers, Jon just wanted to avoid the embarrassment of being beaten by his eight-year-old sister.

"It's nothing, I just got distracted, plus I get a hundred of these each day" he replied with a shrug, Alayne looked at him worriedly and took his hand before nodding.

"You have to be more careful Arya" Alayne reprimanded _, well, this is humiliating_ , Jon thought "I'm sorry I distracted you" she added looking into his eyes, in the light of the moon her eyes seemed the purest thing Jon had ever seen, that made him look away quickly and wait for the darkness to hide the blush on his cheeks.

"It was nothing," Jon repeated, although his throbbing fingers told him otherwise, perhaps he had underestimated Arya after all "I guess this was a good essay about paying attention and not underestimating the enemy" said the latter looking at Arya who smiled timidly, Alayne also smiled, they were still holding hands but Jon didn't dare to withdraw hers.

 "Then let's go to sleep, Arya, I always suffer to wake up" Alayne said in a mocking tone, Arya gave a long sigh as a sign of surrender and together they walked back to their rooms.

As they walked the chilly air gave chills, and Jon had to prevent the hand that was still attached to Alayne's shuddering, had felt something similar in the afternoon, while walking through Winter Town, when the old woman approached them, the old woman, almost bald and toothless, had frightened him a little, however pathetic it seemed, even though it hadn't been the old woman herself, Jon had seen many old women before, but when he put his hand close to the woman's to give her a few coins, touch had felt hot like when he got too close to a pot in the coals of the kitchens, and for a moment Jon could swear that her black eyes were red in the sunlight, although no one else besides him had noticed anything strange , not Arya, not Jory, not Alayne, so maybe he had imagined it.

"It was fun," Alayne said breaking the silence, they had accompanied Arya to her room and now they were heading to their own that were in the same tower.

"Aye, it was, especially for Arya, she doesn´t usually play with other girls very often" Jon said sincerely, Alayne made a strange gesture that seemed sad.

"Her sister is mean to her, right?" she asked quietly, Jon didn't think Sansa was mean on purpose, the sisters were too different and Septa Mordane didn't do much to help anyway.

"It's not that, they're just very different that's all, I bet they'd like to spend time together it's just ... just none enjoy what the other likes, you know, girl´s things" he replied trying to downplay the matter, Alayne was very serious, but then she shook her head.

"I liked ... spending time with you two" she said, playing with the sleeve of her dress nervously.

"Me too, that is, to Arya and I like spending time with you too" Jon answered, turning to see her, she also stopped playing with her sleeve and looked him in the eyes.

"I'm glad we're friends," she said confidently, Jon had to force himself not to look away.

"Me too, I like to be friends ... all three" he said before giving up and looking away, he just couldn't keep his eyes fixed, her eyes seemed to have something else ... something that made Jon feel it was inappropriate to look at them.

"I did not say it for Arya, that is, I also like to be friends with her, but I was talking about us, you and me, I'm glad we're friends" she said with a smile that Jon returned.

"I'm also glad we're friends too" Jon replied and realized that nothing had really made him so happy in a long time, there were very few people he could call friends, Robb and Bran were his brothers and Arya was his sister, but in addition to them there were very few people who considered a friend, Theon was anything but his friend, and while he considered Jory as such there really was no more among them than a friendly and some shared japes  and Jon didn't think that was enough to be friends, and he had never talked to a girl before, so Alayne was the first and only girl he could call a friend and she felt good, he was also glad that she liked it he was her friend, in general all the girls who approached Jon wanted to be friends with Robb not his, they all wanted the friendship of the heir not the bastard's son.

 They talked a little longer before they got to her room, they said goodbye and agreed to meet again tomorrow, although Alayne noticed that she would arrive a little late because she had promised Bran to continue a story, Jon went to sleep with a smile.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bueno, espero que haya sido un buen capítulo :)


End file.
